bandsaw blades for small wheels

[Marc Schneider]

I'm interested in purchasing a new bandsaw (in particular the Laguna LT16 or LT16HD) and would like to be able to do some resawing with it. I'd like to be able to get a premium resawing blade, but most of these blades in the 3/4" and 1" range are 0.035" thick, and I've heard that using these thicker blades on saws with smaller that 18" wheels over stresses the blades and cause them to fail early. Does anyone have experience with this? I'd rather not have to go upto a 18" saw just to be able to use a 1" 0.035" thick blade.

[Jim Becker]

Older versions of the Lennox blade did tend to experience failures due to fatigue from running on the smaller wheels, but they changed the formula a couple years ago to help address that issue. They also recently released a new blade specifically for wood cutting. (The TriMaster was originally intended for metal cutting, although many of us use it for resaw work) But I have the older formula and haven't had any issues with fatigue on my MM16 and the blade has been in off-and-on service for about 4 years now. I de-tension religiously and take it off the machine if not using it. These wide blades should also only be used for straight cuts, again, religiously.

And don't think that you "need" to use a really wide blade for this work. The 1/2" carbide tipped blades will resaw just as well with proper tensioning as the wider ones, have a thinner kerf and a thinner blade profile. When I replace my 1" TriMaster (I accidentally buggered it up big-time due to a mental mistake in machine setup...) I may very well go with the narrower blade. Lower cost, too.

[glenn bradley]

I am currently running a 3/4" on my 17" but think I preferred the 1/2" on my old saw. I'm going to try the 1/2" pretty quick here and I'll post a mini review/comment. I think you'll find there are a couple published BS guru's who prefer 1/2" blades for milling stock. Maybe I'm just subliminally influenced by their fame ;-). All kidding aside, you may not require the larger blade unless you are cutting guitar backs or other very thin veneers on a regular basis, which you well may be.